Russian, US view on Syria doesn't match: Putin

Hans Nichols and Mike Dorning

Northern Ireland: President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, put their escalating differences over Syria on display even as they agreed to urge both sides in the civil war there to the negotiating table.

‘‘Of course, our opinions do not coincide’’ on Syria, Mr Putin said when the two went before the television cameras after meeting on the sidelines of an international summit in Northern Ireland.

‘‘We do have differing perspectives,’’ Mr Obama said, while adding that ‘‘we share an interest in reducing the violence.’’

Some Western leaders publicly rebuked Mr Putin for his support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as the Group of Eight summit of industrial nations began.

President Barack Obama meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, Monday, June 17, 2013. Obama and Putin discussed the ongoing conflict in Syria during their bilateral meeting. Photo: AP

Mr Obama and Mr Putin focused on areas of agreement in remarks after the talks, their first one-on-one meeting in a year, both offering hopes that the Iranian elections would open way for progress in negotiations to that country’s nuclear program and noting common efforts on counterterrorism.

Mr Obama began his comments by thanking Russia for assistance with the investigation into the Boston marathon bombings.

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Both said they would encourage forces they are backing in the Syrian civil war to begin talks planned in Geneva.

The two powers are now openly arming opposing sides in Syria. The White House, declaring Dr Assad had crossed a ‘‘red line’’ Mr Obama drew by using chemical weapons against rebels, announced last week the US would begin sending direct military aid to the Syrian opposition.

Russia continues to arm Dr Assad, a long- time ally. European nations, led by France and Britain that are participating in the summit, have pressed the US to take stronger action in Syria even as Russia has thwarted efforts to sanction Dr Assad in the United Nations. Western allies, particularly British Prime Minister David Cameron and French President Francois Hollande, will probably encourage Mr Obama to take stronger action in support of the rebels in private conversations at the meeting, said Andrew Tabler, a Middle East analyst at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

‘‘How can we allow Russia to continue delivering weapons to the Assad regime when the opposition receives very few and is today massacred?’’ Mr Hollande told reporters.

‘‘How can we allow that there is now proof of chemical weapons - to which extent we don’t yet know, but they have been used - without there being unanimous condemnation from the international community and the G-8?’’

Mr Putin dismissed such criticism in comments on Monday after a meeting with Mr Cameron in London.

Both sides in the civil war have ‘‘blood on their hands,’’ Mr Putin said.

‘‘Russia supplies arms to the legitimate government of Syria according to international law,’’ he said.

‘‘We breach nothing. And we call on our partners to act the same way.’’

Dr Assad warned in an interview with a German newspaper that Europe will ‘‘pay the price’’ for arming rebels in future terrorist attacks.

The Syrian president told Germany’s Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in an interview in Damascus that rebels will only export ‘‘terrorists’’ back to Europe.

He denied using chemical weapons to attack enemies in his country’s civil war.

The Syrian army, strengthened by reinforcements from Lebanon’s Shiite militia Hezbollah and aid from Iran and Russia, has seized the initiative on the battlefield from opposition forces.

As the international leaders met, the army was mounting an offensive to retake Aleppo, the nation’s commercial centre and largest city.

The Syrian rebels’ Supreme Military Command, headed by Major General Salim Idris, has pleaded for heavy arms that go beyond the light weapons such as machine guns and rocket- propelled grenades that the US is preparing to furnish.

The Obama administration is debating whether to provide heavier weapons amid concerns that the material could fall into the hands of Islamic extremists, said a US official familiar with the discussions.

The official said Mr Obama authorised providing small arms under a classified order instructing the Central Intelligence Agency to arrange delivery.

Ben Rhodes, an Obama deputy national security adviser, speaking before the president departed Washington, said because of the ‘‘fluid situation’’ in Syria, the president would ‘‘consult with all the leaders’’ at the summit about ‘‘the types of support we’re providing the opposition.’’

Russian officials continue to question US and European assertions of proof that Dr Assad’s regime used chemical weapons against the opposition.

‘‘There are too many emotions around Syrian issue,’’ Alexey Kvasov, a senior Kremlin official, told reporters. While agreeing that the use of chemical weapons ‘‘is not acceptable,’’ he said there wasn’t sufficient proof to lay blame.

Russia will work with other members of the G-8 to form a joint position on Syria, Mr Kvasov said.

Mr Cameron told reporters on Tuesday before the summit got under way that Britain hasn’t yet decided whether to provide arms to the Syrian rebels and is focused on a negotiated transition.

‘‘President Assad wants us to think that the only alternative to him is extremism and violence,’’ Mr Cameron said.

‘‘Yet there are millions of people in Syria who want a peaceful and democratic future. We should be on their side.’’

Mr Cameron said there remains ‘‘a big difference’’ on Syria between Russia and the West, which was laid bare in his talks with Putin in London yesterday.

‘‘There’s clearly a big difference between the Russian position and the position of Britain, France and America and many others,’’ he said.

‘But where there is common ground is that we all see the need for a peace conference, a peace process and a transition to a different regime in Syria.’’

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Putin stands alone among the G-8 members in his support of Dr Assad.

‘‘We in the West have a very different perspective on this situation,’’ Mr Harper said on Monday in Dublin.

‘‘Mr Putin and his government are supporting the thugs of the Assad regime for their own reasons that I do not think are justifiable.’’